Final Fantasy Type-0: The Icy Reaper
by Skyelight72
Summary: Before commanding Class Zero of the elite magic academy Akademeia, before a bloody tragedy unfolded before his eyes, Kurasame was simply an Agito Cadet of Class Three. Thus begins one of the Four Champions of Rubrum, of the man who would become feared as the Icy Reaper…
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Final Fantasy Type-0 Side Story: The Icy Reaper

 **Summary:** Before commanding Class Zero of the elite magic academy Akademeia, before a bloody tragedy unfolded before his eyes, Kurasame was simply an Agito Cadet of Class Three. Thus begins one of the Four Champions of Rubrum, of the man who would become feared as the Icy Reaper…

 **Notes:** This story was created by and belongs to Tetsuya Nomura; I do not own anything of this story at all. I recently bought the book offline and decided to post it up for those who can't read it or buy it. Everything that happens in this story is the **TRUTH** of Kurasame's past. I am not making any profit from this; this is purely for the benefit of everyone who wants to read the events before the game and the sake of enjoyment.

 **Chapter One** _ **: Agito Cadets**_

Standing on top of one of the many terrace balconies that Akademeia held was a man named Kurasame Susaya, who was in his mid-twenties with grey-blue hair and icy blue eyes. He wore Rubrum's standard military gear, a long dark coat with golden outlines fastened with numerous red belts, a long cape, and a mask that covered the lower portion of his face. Standing in front of him was a girl, Cater, with short, flared auburn hair and steel-blue eyes. She wore a cadet uniform consisting of a black jacket with gold-padded shoulders, a checkered red pleated skirt, knee-high black socks and a red cape along with a red satchel backpack. Standing next to her was another male, Nine, with messy blond hair with long bangs covering the right side, and light blue eyes and a scarred face. He wore the same black jacket and gold-padded shoulders left unfastened with a black belt, a red buckle and white trousers.

"On the battlefield, there's no guarantee anyone's coming back alive. But don't worry. If I die, the crystal will erase your memories." The Icy eyed man said to his two cadets.

"I doubt we'd forget you, seriously. I mean you're Class Zero's commander." The blonde haired teen countered.

"Okay then. I'll pray you guys remember…that your commanding officer was a pain in the ass."

"Yeah, you got that right! We couldn't forget an annoying guy like you if we tried!"

"Good. Now go use that energy out on the battlefield."

"Ha!" The red haired girl grinned slightly at her Commanding officer, "As if you need to tell us." The two cadets turned and walked off of the terrace and into the red portal. Kurasame couldn't help but watch their backs as they left. _'Such an awkward pair of cadets. But what does it say about me, that I need my cadets to coddle me before heading into battle?'_ He thought as he turned to look up at the clouded sky _. 'Class Zero is strong. Where do they find that strength? Even though the young ones are paying for the adults' stupidity with their lives…They still face life head on. How do they do it?'_

' _ **They're much stronger than someone like me.'**_ He couldn't help thinking as his mind began to wonder back to the other cadets of Class Zero. ' _Honestly, I'm not worried about them. They're survivors, no matter what's thrown at them. They're skilled, lucky, and determined. They have an aura that summons victory. There is one I worry about though.'_ The newest cadet Machina Kunigiri. He noticed the sudden change in his attitude when the cadets came back after escaping Milites; the boy had started to isolate himself from the others.

" _Machina has excellent grades, and people like him. He's such a kind young man."_ Machina's former commanding officer had told him this shortly after the teen was transferred to Class Zero.

"Kindness…" Kurasame said to himself aloud, his eyes sharpened into a harsh glare. "What good will that do him?"

' _Machina is afraid of loss. Since his brother's death, he's afraid of losing the memories of the people closest to him. But loss is inevitable for us. Once something's gone, we can never get it back. There's nothing I can do to help him, He has to beat this on his own.'_ He closed his eyes as a cool wind swept through the air, rustling his hair softly.

' _If he can't…He'll suffer the same relentless emptiness I do.'_ Kurasame's mind started to drift back. Back when he was still a cadet, back when he still had everything…

Back when _**they**_ were still alive.

 **XxXxXxX**

Standing in the center of the forest clearing with his eyes closed in concentration was a boy with the same grey-blue colored hair but this time he didn't have a mask covering his face, he was wearing the standard cadet uniform with a purple mantle hanging around his shoulders. The trees started rustling faintly behind him as a massive snake like dragon reared up from them slowly, its jaw began to unhinge itself and gap open wide as it quickly made a lunged for the teen. He snapped his eyes open and within seconds, the cadet was holding a katana and the dragon were sliced into pieces. The vast corpse dropped to pieces on the ground and the teen sheathed his sword.

"Kurasame! You're not hurt, are you?" A short raven haired girl with a worried look in her dark grey eyes asked him, she was wearing the same uniform and a purple colored mantle around her neck. Kurasame glanced over at her as she walked towards him. "How could I possibly be hurt in this situation, Miwa?" Behind the two, the rest of Class Three watched the swordsman's stiff back with a small look of admiration in their gaze. "We're a team of almighty Agito cadets and their commanding officer is there any way to get hurt?"

"But this is a real battle!" Miwa argued. "You never know what could happen."

"It's a 'Battle Drill'. The chances of getting injured or killed on this mission are zero." But even so the worried look in Miwa's eyes didn't subside.

'… _This is pathetic.'_ Kurasame sighed to himself. _'The name "Agito Cadets" weeps to see us like this.'_ He turned and looked up towards the large castle that sat on top of the high mountains. The Castle of Concordia could be seen perfectly clear through the opening in the tree tops.

 **XxXxXxX**

" **And now we will go over the military history of the Milites Empire…"** Their Commanding Officer's voice droned on in the class room. Kurasame sat in his seat and tried to make an effort to pay attention to the lecture but he couldn't help but get distracted by his other classmates.

' _Young warriors aiming to become Agito, the pride of Rubrum. Experts in strategy and tactics, that is who we are. The cadets of Akademeia the Vermilion Peristylium. We cadets have dedicated our lives to intensive training to become Agito…'_ Glancing at one of his classmates, he saw the familiar shaved light brown hair of Kotetsu. One of the very few people in Class Three who took his own studies just as seriously as he did. He could see Kotetsu's eyes moving rapidly behind his black rimmed glasses as he followed along with their Commanding Officer. _'The legendary force that will bring salvation to Orience. We risk our lives for our Dominion and our Crystal.'_ Kurasame moved his gaze from Kotetsu to his other classmates. _'…Or that's the idea.'_

He could see Guren's spikey wind swept black hair peaking from the side of his book that was standing up, hiding his sleeping face from view. He could see a line of drool coming from his mouth as he snored away. Next to him was Miwa talking to a girl with long blonde hair and short bangs with a braid wrapped around the crown of her head, her dark blue eyes were entirely focused on Miwa as she spoke. Kurasame could vaguely remember that her name was Sayo. A few rows a head of where the girls were sitting was a shaggy and short blonde haired teen that was playing with a small fire spell in his hands. He had also made a stack of books in front of himself to hide it from view; he could hear Oruto muttering and laughing quietly to himself. He looked at the rest of the cadets in the classroom and saw that almost all of them weren't even paying attention to the lecture either.

' _But this is my reality, Class Three. All of them think "Cadet" is just a great title to stick on a resume but not me.'_ Kurasame turned his attention to the window and stared down at the training grounds. ' _I should be with them.'_ Down in the training grounds he saw the familiar light blue capes of the elites of Akademeia sparing with each other vigorously.

' _Class One, the cream of the cadet crop. Word is that the Military sometimes asks them to go on real missions for the army. Those missions are nothing like the drills this class goes on. They're on a real battlefield, with lives on the line. I will get into Class One. I'll prove I'm not like these sorry excuses for cadets.'_

"Let's have a Guts Challenge!" Miwa suddenly announced.

"…What?"

"As a farewell party for Guren!" She explained. "He's moving away."

' _A Guts Challenge? Like a test of courage? Why would anyone play along with that nonsense?'_ Kurasame thought, he could hear everyone in the class talking about it now. "I envy them and their ability to get so excited over a stupid kiddie ghost adventure, like they don't have a care in the world." He opened his journal and flipped it to a blank page and began to write.

" _Why am I here?_

 _I will never fit in with these people._

 _But it's no cause for mourning on my part._

 _It just means I'm special._

 _Never forget that, Future Kurasame."_

Behind him, the swordsman never noticed Oruto coming up behind him until the journal he was writing in was snatched from under him. "Oruto!"

"' _Future Kurasame'_ _…?"_

"Oruto! Give that back!"

"Wh-what are you writing?" Oruto started snickering as he read over the page. "This is hilarious."

"Stop that! Give it back!" Kurasame tried to snatch the book back but the blonde kept moving just out of his reach. "If you have time to steal my notebook, use it to study, Mr. 'Last Place'!" The teen tried to make one last attempt to grab for the book until Oruto suddenly tossed it to Guren's still sleeping form. "Guren, catch!" He yelled.

The raven haired man jerked awake just as the notebook landed on his face. "What's this?" But before he could get a good look at it; the notebook was immediately snatched back by Kurasame. "Hmph, terrible reflexes. And you call yourself a cadet." The swordsman taunted. "You're not getting my notebook." The book was still open to the page.

"That's okay. This page is all I need." Oruto snuck up behind him again and hurriedly tore the recent entry out of the notebook and started running. "Oruto!" Kurasame yelled after him. He quickly grabbed a hold of the wrist that held his paper, but he wasn't holding it anymore.

"Terrible reflexes." Guren mocked, holding up the paper in his hand. "And you call yourself a cadet."

"Stop messing around! Give it back!"

"' _Why am I here?_ '" Oruto read aloud from the paper, Kurasame gritted his teeth in anger. "Stop It!"

"Later Kurasame." Was the last thing Guren said as he and Oruto disappeared through the portal that lead to the outside of the classroom. Kurasame was running closely behind them. "Come Back!"

Back in the classroom the girls were giggling to themselves as they watched them go. "It's hard to tell if Kurasame is cold-hearted or Hot-headed." Sayo giggled. "He's actually a pretty funny guy even if he doesn't know it." Miwa said with a sigh. "Anyway forget about them, back to the Guts Challenge."

" **Does anyone realize that we are still in the middle of class?!"**

 **XxXxXxX**

"I said give it back!" Kurasame yelled after Guren and Oruto as they ran through the schools vast courtyard.

"' _Future Kurasame'_? For a guy who's always quiet, you got some personality!" Guren teased as he read the paper. " _'Why am I here'_?"

"Come on, Stop it!"

Guren looked up suddenly and seen two familiar looking girls standing off to the side. He quickly skidded to a stop in front of the two cadets from Class One. "Hey, didn't we have a date? You promised we'd get lunch together in the Ready Room." The two girls just smiled at him, already used to his flirting habit. "Oh if you keep talking like that your true love will get away, you know." One of the girls said.

"Huh? Oh, you know about that?" Guren asked them.

"Everyone knows about that. The girl in Class Three with the long hair…" Seeing that Guren was currently being distracted, Kurasame continued to make a run for him from behind. _'I have you now, Guren!'_ Unfortunately he didn't notice Oruto sticking his foot out to trip him up until it was too late. He started to stumble harshly at first until he ended up rolling and sliding right towards the trio. Guren noticed quickly enough to immediately step out of the way from being collided into.

"Hahaha! What are you doing Kurasame?" The spiky haired teen asked laughing. The swordsman could only growl at him from his place on the ground, his eyes twisting into a harsh glare.

"Class Three cadets are all such good friends." One of the female cadets said. "I hear that's the class all the trainees want to get into."

"Does this look like friends!?" Kurasame protested as he got himself off the ground, dusting off his clothes. _'No! Class One is mocking me!'_ He thought. He saw Guren and Oruto taking off again with his paper and he hurriedly followed after them, leaving the two girls behind. "Get back here!"

"…Every class has its own share of bullying and sabotage."

 **XxXxXxX**

In Akademeia's Sorcery Division, Class Eleven were working as hard as ever. One of the male students was working alone at one of the stations in the back. He was tall with glasses and short brown hair and long bangs in the front that were swept to the right side of his face nearly covering his right eye. He also had on the customary white mantle of Class Eleven.

He could hear footsteps growing louder and closer from outside of the room until-

 _ *****_ _ **CRASH!**_ _ *****_

Guren crashed through the window and landed onto the table in a rush, knocking over papers and making the chemicals spill and shatter on the ground.

"Kazusa! Stop him!" Kurasame shouted towards the brown haired cadet. Just as Guren made to run past him, Kazusa stole the paper right out of his hand making the raven haired teen stop in his tracks.

"Ergh! It's the four-eyed fruit cake!" Kazusa ignored the name and just glanced over the contents of the paper in his hand curiously.

"Thanks Kazusa." Kurasame said as he was walking towards them. "These idiots were…"

"Here you go." Kazusa handed the paper back to Guren.

"Hey!"

"Aww, thanks."

"Huh? I thought you'd be on Kurasame's side." Oruto said to Kazusa.

"I am. But I just love seeing him in distress."

' _Kazusa!'_ Kurasame sulked angrily in his head and glared at the scientist.

"Plus, I think it would be much more fun to expose that subline piece of literature to as many eyes as possible." Kazusa said, gaining a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"Wow four-eyed fruit cake! You really get it." Guren praised before taking off again with Oruto by his side, the chase was still going.

"This isn't over, Kazusa!" Kurasame yelled from over his shoulder as he started running after them again.

"I'm just happy to see you having so much fun."

 **XxXxXxX**

"Come on, that's enough! You're so immature!" Kurasame shouted at Oruto as they ran down Akademeia's hallway.

"Yup, I'm only fifteen. Definitely still a kid." Oruto replied back to him.

"Well, grow up! And give me that paper!"

"What's going on over there?" Asked two of their classmates. "Is that Kurasame?" Guren was currently holding Kurasame back by his shoulders as Oruto took the paper and started to walk towards the other guys. "Well, you see…Written on this paper is the most sublime piece of literature…" Oruto said as he gained a mischievous smile on his face.

"Stop! No! It's nothing!" Kurasame tried to struggle as hard as he could against Guren's hold but he couldn't break free no matter how hard he tried.

"Well if you're going to react like that, now I have to see it!"

"Let's have a look."

"No!"

The blonde made to hand over the paper to the others until the page was suddenly plucked from him. Miwa was standing off to the side with the paper grasped tightly in her own hand. "Miwa!" Kurasame cried in shock, his eyes lit up a little at seeing her coming to his rescue.

"Come on, Miwa! Stay out of this!" One of the other cadets complained.

"I'm not getting into anything." She said. "Here, this is what you wanted, right?" She laid the paper on the table for the others to see. Kurasame could feel his hope shatter into pieces as he collapsed to his knees. _'It's over…Everything…my whole life is over.'_

"Oh! It's the pairs for the challenge!" One of them said, attracting the entire class' attention.

"What? Let me see!"

Miwa moved away from the beginning crowed and over to Oruto and Guren. She looked up and gave them her nastiest glare making the two freeze up and start trembling before tugging on Kurasame's cape, pulling him into the back gardens.

"Here. This is yours." She handed the original notebook entry to him and he immediately took it back from her.

"...Did you see it?" He asked her. Miwa just shrugged her shoulders and turned her back to him.

"Maybe." Was all she said as she went back into their classroom, Kurasame smiled at her from behind.

"Thanks."

Miwa didn't give any indication that she acknowledged him, but he didn't see the small smile and the light blush that she had on her face as she walked away.

Looking down at the slip of paper in his hand he noticed that something else was written down underneath one of the sentences he wrote.

" _Why am I here…?'_ It read. And underneath it in small feminine handwriting a short reply said:

" _To enjoy the present with your classmates!"_

' _~Miwa'_

Kurasame couldn't stop the soft grin from forming on his face.

 **XxXxXxX**

"All things considered, I'd say you really enjoyed that."

"You've got to be kidding." Kurasame was back in the Sorcery Department sweeping up the broken glass pieces and shattered caldrons on the floor. He and Kazusa were the only two there as the rest of Class Eleven had left earlier because of the commotion and the mess.

"No, no. You looked like you were having fun. I'm glad you have such good classmates."

"Them? 'Good'?" Kurasame scoffed. "They're a bunch of immature brats. Thanks to them I'm stuck cleaning all by myself."

"You're getting out of the Guts Challenge. But now you owe Miwa a favor, there's no way…"

"Ugh, why must you torment me?"

"Frankly, I'm jealous. I wish I could go to a test of guts," The scientist picked up a beaker and started to swirl the liquid inside the container. A dark smile started to take over as a creepy gleam crept in his eyes, his glasses glinting weirdly in the light. "Preforming various experiments on the internal organs of one's beloved. Could a better event ever take place?"

"Kazusa," Kurasame stopped and gave him an exasperated look. "That's not what it means." He was already used to the scientist's weird behavior after knowing him for so long _. 'Even I don't know how I came to be friends with this four-eyed freak. I can't even remember what started it. I guess we just hit it off because neither of us fits in our class.'_

"I know, I know. It was just some anatomy humor."

"What kind of humor is that?" The teen bent down to sweep up the rest of the glass shards and disposed of them in the trash ben.

"But if you ask me, you're not so mature yourself Kurasame."

"What? You'd put me on the same level as those kids who are all worked up about some cheap dare?"

"A Real adult can _**pretend**_ to enjoy himself." Kazusa said. "He can laugh at stupid jokes and be impressed by unintelligent comments. He can act excited about something he cares nothing about. That's what it means to be an adult."

"So you want me to pretend to have fun so I can fit in with my class?" Kurasame asked.

"No, I don't think you need to give yourself that kind of useless stress. There's nothing wrong with you not having fun."

"So…What are you trying to say?" Kazusa gave him a side eyed glance. "I think I'm trying to say that it wouldn't be bad if you would be more honest with yourself and sincerely have fun. Nothing good will come of trying to act grown up and cool. You're always looking down on your classmates, saying they're immature. But they have a desire to have fun. And they're going to have fun. If they didn't do that, life would be pretty dull."

"If what you're saying is right…Then I'm the most childish of the bunch." The swordsman said with realization.

"And that's why I love you so much I can't stand it."

"Don't make it creepy."

Kurasame finally stopped sweeping and looked down at himself thoughtfully. _'If I were a child, I could sincerely enjoy it. If I were an adult, I could pretend to enjoy it. I can't enjoy it or pretend to, so what does that make me? A rebellious adolescent?'_

' _That…is really immature.'_

"Why not actually try to have fun once in a while? I hear Class Three is a pretty friendly group."

' _Up until now, I thought they were a mob of immature brats. But maybe I was wrong. Maybe they're actually putting effort into making our class a good place to be.'_ "Your tastes are really messed up, but your ideas are surprisingly sane."

"That's what it means to be a genius." Kurasame leaned back against the wall and sighed, _'A guts challenge, maybe I will try to enjoy it.'_

 **XxXxXxX**

Back in the forest there were two Rubrum foot soldiers that were clearing the cave of wild monsters lurking inside. They were there only for the sole purpose of setting it up for the Guts Challenge that Class Three was planning later that week. The daylight had started to recede behind the mountains as the sun was setting, the night slowly took over.

"Okay, nothing unusual about this cave." One said. "No monster outbreaks. There was a request from the administration to let some cadets use this cave, right?"

"Yeah, something about Class Three using it for a drill or something."

"Just between you and me, I heard it's not a drill. They're having a courage contest."

"What? A courage contest? Ugh, those high-and-might cadets! Must be nice being elite. And we're out here doing a safety check just because they want to play a game." One of the soldiers complained. "They don't pay me enough for this."

"We're just lowly little foot soldiers. It's our lot in life to be slaves to fifteen and sixteen year-old brats."

As the two traveled deeper into the cave, they never noticed a lone woman following behind them silently. She was wearing a floor length white kimono with green embroidery detail with an obi cinched at the waist along with an elaborate headpiece and a solid veil covering her face from view. But within the small side opening of the veil, you could see the macabre smile stretching widely across her face, her chuckles resound lowly off of the hollow cave walls, her eyes looked empty as they were over shadowed by the darkness of her headpiece.

" _ **Ha ha ha ha ha…"**_

 **End of Chapter One**

 **A/N** **: Chapter 2 will be typed and posted depending on how everyone reacts to this. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2: In the Darkness

_**Chapter 2: In the Darkness**_

After the cave was reported all clear, Class Three decided to have the contest two nights a head of time so they could set everything up and get the costumes in place. A selective few in the class had a job to do while the rest were paired together, one boy and one girl for each pair.

"This is Kurasame, we are now sending in the first pair." He reported in to his COMM as he surveyed everything in the cave making sure all of the decorations were in place. It was near midnight and the whole place was almost completely black outside, save for the light that was illuminating from the torches that were hanging on the wall in the inside. "Um, you're…"

" **Shuri! At least remember my name!"** The female cadet shouted back. **"And quit it with the formalities, Kurasame! This isn't a mission. Our scares are already."** She said before cutting the connection.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the list of instructions Miwa had given him earlier back in the classroom and read over them again. _'Make sure the search pairs get started without any problems. And stay in touch with the scarers, that's my all-important assignment.'_ Miwa had made him the 'liaison'. She said it was to make sure he didn't get stuck with any of the girls and to keep him from having to scare anyone. Looking up, he saw her talking to another pair that were getting ready to head inside.

"How's it going?" She asked him after dismissing the two. "No problems, liaison Kurasame?"

"No, everything's ready. You can leave anytime." He told her.

"Rodger that! And we're off!" She was going to lead the first group through the tunnel and then come back to lead the second group in. "Since we're here, let's have fun, okay?" She teased him.

"Yeah, yeah. Get going." He said sending her on her way. On the other side of where he was standing were Guren and Sayo who had been paired together for the challenge.

"Yo Guren, get a room would ya?" Another cadet teased him.

"Wha-!?" Guren said as he started getting flustered. "Don't be stupid! We just happened to be paired up, okay? What are you suggesting?"

"Hey calm down man. You're not yourself."

"Sayo, you make sure he doesn't let anything happen to you, okay?" A girl said giggling.

"Guys!" He shouted at them, the group ran away from them laughing.

Guren glanced down at Sayo and the two accidently caught each other's eyes. They starred at each other for a few moments before they turned away blushing a bright pink, not saying anything.

' _I think that's most of them.'_ Kurasame thought watching the last two pairs walk in. "I'm sending the next pair, are you ready?" He said into his COM. For a few moments he couldn't hear anything from the other side. He pressed it a few more times before it suddenly clicked back on. Instead of the other girl's voice filtering through like before, a static white noise sounded in his ear in a disjointed mess. Broken up pieces of speech started coming through and he could barely hear what was going on.

" **Kghh…kgkh…"** The COMM started fritzing before shutting down again. The connection had been completely cut from the other side.

"Hey, can you hear me?" He tried again. "This is Kurasame. Come in, what happened?" But it was no use. The connection wouldn't go through anymore. _'Let's see…Huh? What was the name of the cadet in charge of the scarers again…?"_ For some reason he couldn't remember their name anymore.

"Something wrong?" Guren asked him.

"I think my COMM's broken. I'm gonna go check on things." He said.

"I'll go with you."

"No, I'm going alone."

"What!?" Oruto yelled. "You like guys too?" he asked Guren, looking at him in shock.

"The hell I do, Oruto!" He snapped at him. "I'm just trying to be helpful. Don't make it creepy!"

"Okay. Then I'll go with Kurasame." Oruto volunteered.

"So you have a thing for him?" Guren shot back at him, he just laughed. "I need him to give me some pointers for the next test. Or else I'm gonna be in trouble."

"You're gonna be publicly shamed for low scores again." Guren said.

"I'm hoping I won't. That's why I'm counting on you, Professor Kurasame!" Oruto said looking at Kurasame hopefully. The swordsman just sighed to himself.

The three finally decided that Guren was going to be the one that stayed behind at the cave entrance and Oruto would come with him. After a few minutes of walking deeper into the cave, Kurasame's mind started wondering and he started to think about the blonde's strange carefree character.

' _Oruto, he's vying for the position of stupidest member of Class Three. That's the only thing I ever remember about him, and yet he had the audacity to take my notebook.'_ He could feel his irritation start to reel up again as he reminded himself about that little incident, he still never forgave them about that.

"Well, now that we've given Guren this shot, I hope he makes good use of it." Oruto's voice broke through his thoughts suddenly. He looked back at him in question. "Believe it or not, Guren has a hard time admitting his feelings when he's serious about a girl."

' _Serious?'_ He thought. _'Does he mean that Sayo girl?'_ "Oh, is that why you were so desperate to come with me? To give Guren some time with Sayo?" He asked. _'They're always trying so hard for things that don't make any sense.'_

"Oh, but I wasn't lying when I said I wanted you to give me some tips." Oruto said. "You're like a super student, right?"

' _I thought he was just an idiot…But he's actually aware of things. Guren too, He noticed right away when my COMM was broken and asked me what was wrong. Maybe Kazusa is right. Maybe I am the immature one.'_

"So hey, you never really talk. Like, at all Kurasame. Is that why your grades are-"

Oruto's cut off sharply and Kurasame found himself being pushed back roughly across the cave floor. He grunted when his back hit the ground and quickly sat up. "Wha-!? Oruto, what are you…?" His voice trailed off when he saw what coming from the ground he had been standing on a few seconds ago.

Sharp, jagged spikes had shot up from the ground; he would have been skewered alive by them if it wasn't for Oruto's quick reflexes saving his life.

"Wha-what are those?"

" _ **Oh-ho. Finally some true cadets**_ _."_ A distorted voice sounded out throughout the cave. "Who's there!?" Kurasame yelled. In the darkness of the other side of the cave they could both see shadows start moving out of place and something else slowly starting to come into the light. The first thing that came out of the darkness was a woman who looked to be from Concordia judging by her clothes. Right behind her were two grossly mutated looking monsters with the same jagged spikes from before piercing through their skin. Kurasame and Oruto could feel themselves break out into a cold sweat.

" _ **Ha ha ha ha ha**_ _._ _ **"**_ As the woman laughed more spikes started to burst through the monster's skin covered in dark red blood as even smaller ones started growing as well.

"What are those…?" Kurasame was speechless, he couldn't think of anything else to say as he continued to watch the three with a sense of dread starting to pool in his stomach.

'Why is someone from Concordia here!?" Oruto shouted. "What are those monsters!?"

" _ **You boys are so cold."**_ The woman said. _**"The girl immediately asked about her classmates' safety."**_ From underneath her headpiece Kurasame could see the sadistic smile she had on her face. He clenched his fists tightly and started to break out into a run towards her. " Wh-where are they!?"

He heard a sickening squelch from underneath his feet; he could feel the thick and wet substance even through the thick soles of his shoes. He looked down, and all he saw was a sea of blood and bodies littering all over the ground. Mangled bodies twisted in unnatural angles, some were faced up and he could see their mouths were twisted in soundless screams. All of the bodies were skewered by spikes piercing through their chests, arms, and legs. He couldn't remember their faces, but he knew those purple colored mantles around their necks anywhere.

They were his classmates…

He felt himself fall to his knees in horror. He couldn't bring himself to look away from the mess even with the shock and nausea coursing through his system. "How could…?"

" _ **You're next."**_ The monsters behind her shifted into an offensive stance, getting ready to launch at him in the next few seconds.

' _Calm down, calm down, Calm Down! Move feet!"_ He tried to urge himself. _'She's going to kill you if you don't move! So move! Fight!"_ Looking back at the mangled corpses again he noticed that there was one body that he could still remember. That same familiar black hair and uniform that was now bloodied and torn. Seeing them was the encouragement that he needed to force himself up off of the ground.

"Miwa!" He stumbled over to her. "Hey, Miwa!" He picked her by her shoulders and turned her over on her back. Her eyes had finally opened, but just barely.

"Kura…same…" Her voice was weak and broken sounding. The entire right arm of her uniform had been torn off and her arm was scratched and bloody.

"Hold on! I'll bandage you up!" He tore off his mantle and wrapped it tightly around her wounds as best as he could.

" _ **Hee-hee. The girl has earned the right to call herself a cadet. I'm impressed that she managed to evade my sisters for so long."**_ The lady said with a sneer. _**"By contrast, the others were all a disappointment. Not even worth the effort of killing them, they put up no resistance. Is that all you cadets have to offer?"**_

"You! How…How dare you!" Miwa shouted at her.

" _ **Ha ha ha ha! Isn't it convenient to forget the dead? Until a moment ago, you were weeping, clinging to the lumps of meat that used to be your friends."**_ She snickered. _**"I can't use healing magic! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! You said. You wailed it over and over like a babbling idiot."**_

" _ **Are you feeling better now that you've lost your memories? Ha ha ha!"**_

"That's enough!" Kurasame quickly summoned his sword to his side and lunged at the woman. The woman gave a signal for the monsters behind her and one of them lashed its arm out quick enough to block Kurasame's attack. Spikes formed from underneath its skin and burst out suddenly, impaling Kurasame in his right arm sending him skittering back on the ground.

"Ngh…Ugh!" He panted harshly, weakly grabbing his pierced arm. _'This isn't even about pain anymore. A direct hit would gave killed me!'_ He thought frantically. He turned his head up to the monster that was coming towards him. _'Am I going to die? Me, here?'_

He glanced over at the corpses of his dead team mates again. _'I can't die now! I'm not the one who needs to die here!'_ He grabbed his fallen sword with his left hand.

' _She is!_ The moment the monster towered over him, he shoved his sword in its eye as hard as he could. Blood spewed out from its socket and it reared back with a loud ear-piercing screech. The other mutant that had been standing behind the woman earlier leapt straight for him, taking the other's place.

"Kurasame!" Oruto cried out as he ran to his side. The swordsman hurriedly moved out of the way as Oruto made a stand in front of him and casted the strongest thundara spell he could muster, hitting it dead on.

" **Aaaah! What have you done!?"** The woman shouted in anger. She didn't notice Kurasame moving quickly behind her and attacking her until she felt the stinging pain of his blade cutting deeply across her back. Her body dropped face down and she steadily began to bleed out. Kurasame stumbled back and leaned against the wall panting heavily.

' _I killed a woman.'_ That thought echoed loudly in his head like a scream. "For the first time in my life…I killed a human being. It's very…bleak feeling."

Oruto only watched him as he went over to pick up Miwa; he looked as if he wanted to say something but decided against it. "Let's go, Oruto." Kurasame said. "That monster could start moving again any second."

 **XxXxXxX**

The two moved as far away as they could from the blood bath, they ended up finding a decent sized space that was wedged between two walls of the cave and decided to settle down there. Kurasame propped Miwa's unconscious body against the wall and sat down on the opposite side. Oruto had started to pull out the spikes that had been impaling his arm.

Ripping the last one out, he tore off his own mantle from around his neck and used it as a makeshift bandage for Kurasame's arm, similarly to what he did for Miwa earlier.

"There's a penalty for cadets who lose their capes. Well, you tore yours to bandage Miwa." Oruto said sitting down next to the swordsman. "My cape and your cape…are red now. Now we've become the legendary class zero, because we have red capes." He joked.

"Class Zero, huh?"

"Yeah."

"If we can just get back to Akademeia, maybe we will be put into Class Zero." Kurasame chuckled weakly, the blonde just smiled. They sat there for a few minutes, enjoying the silence while they still could until-

"Mn…nn…"

"Miwa, are you okay?" Kurasame asked her as she started coming back into consciousness. She stared at him quietly for a moment before her eyes misted over and tears started streaming down her face.

"Miwa?"

"Sayo, Guren, Kotetsu, Kurasame, Oruto…There were twenty people in our class but I can only remember five!" She cried devastated. "I can't remember the others!"

"What are you saying?" The swordsman asked. _'I can't remember them either…?'_ Then his eyes widened in realization. _'So when I couldn't remember the cadet I was trying to contact, was it because she was already dead!?'_

"Class Three is all dead…Except for six of us? Hey…What's going on?" Oruto asked brokenly, his eyes started to become unfocused. He could feel a scream starting to build up in his chest and his throat close up tightly. He roughly gripped his hair and collapsed on his knees, tremors racking through his body.

" _ **WAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"**_ He screamed at the top his lungs and started dry heaving. Kurasame's jaw tightened and he clenched his hands to his side; he didn't know what to say.

"Take care of Miwa." He said walking out of the space they had.

"Kurasame…?"

"I'm going to help out the survivors!" He didn't wait for Oruto to respond back as he rushed back towards the corpses of their fallen comrades.

 **XxXxXxX**

It didn't take him long to find his way back because the smell of blood was thick in the air. No matter how long he continued to stare at the blood bath it still shocked him to very core each time. The overwhelming feeling of guilty only seemed to grow in the pit of his stomach as he couldn't remember a single face that stared lifelessly back. Even though it was the crystals doing it still didn't make him feel any better.

The closer he moved towards them the more the metallic scent of blood start to fill his nose even through the sleeve of his shirt that he was using to cover his mouth and nose. After bypassing the area he could faintly hear a familiar voice speaking faintly and the sound of someone moving on the ground in jerky movements.

He could see Guren's hulking form leaning over Sayo's small body, trying desperately to pin her to the ground by her shoulders. Her eyes were blown up wide and her pupils were full dilated, she was shaking and convulsing as she pushed against Guren's hands. She didn't look as if she was fully aware of what was going on at all, she was staring blankly at the ceiling above them.

"Guren?" He called to him. The raven haired teen looked up at him and Kurasame could see cuts littering all over the other's face.

"Kurasame...Help." He asked weakly. "It's Sayo."

"She's…"


	3. Chapter 3: Lost and Forgotten

**Chapter 3: Lost and Forgotten**

"…Guren…?" Kurasame inched towards the two hesitantly. Sayo's body convulsed and pushed against Guren's hands on her shoulders. The raven haired teen was trying hard not to hurt her while also trying to keep her from getting up. "Kurasame, help!" He pleaded to him. "Help me hold her down. Please!" Not wasting anytime getting closer, Kurasame looked down at the girl's entire body and he could finally see what the problem was.

The entire right side of Sayo's body was completely mutated. Her whole right arm was grotesque and muscular, similar in appearance to the beasts that he had killed before. The same blood red spikes growing out of her shoulders and her hand had morphed in to three sharp claws. The whole thing took on a pale green in color. Sayo's leg looked to be still in the beginning stages of its transformation, it was starting to grown darker and smaller bone white spikes were growing out of her thigh. It…looked disgusting.

"Is that…really Sayo?" He couldn't believe it, but there was no doubt that this was her.

"She…She forced something into Sayo's mouth, and then she attacked!" looking into his eyes, Kurasame could see the conflicted emotions in Guren's eyes. He glanced back towards the sea of bodies and then back towards Sayo's grotesque form. He didn't waste any more time placing himself on her right side and holding down her mutated arm. He grunted as he felt her start to struggle underneath him. _'She's strong.'_ He thought as he used all of his strength trying to keep her down.

" _ **Honestly, my dear sisters get all the fun. It isn't fair."**_

Guren and Kurasame perked up at the distorted voice, it sounded almost identical to the woman's from before.

" _ **And I'm stuck here, making sure none of you escape."**_ Another woman slowly revealed herself from the shadows, her clothing was the same. The only clear distinction from the other was the way her was made. Instead of two ponytails in the front, her hair was pulled up into twin spirals. _**"Oh well."**_ She said, _**"I suppose it's for the best. I did get to test my new drug, after all."**_

"Change Sayo back!" Guren shouted at her.

" _ **That's not possible. Can't you see the drug was a failure? You can't possible expect me to reverse its effects."**_

Guren gritted his teeth harshly before pushing himself up and summoning a large battle axe to his hands. He launched himself at her. "Damn you!"

"Guren!" Kurasame shouted after him but he couldn't go after him because he had to keep Sayo down. Without Guren's added strength it became increasingly hard to restrain her. He could feel searing pain in his arm as his wounds from before started to open up again from the strain. He's blood staining the makeshift purple bandage of Oruto's mantle.

Up above them in the darkness of the cave's ceiling, 4 eyes wrenched open looking down at the raven haired teen. He only had a few seconds to notice them in time and move back before a huge clawed fist aimed down in front of him and punched a hole into where he had been standing, it grazed his chest. The 4 eyes were lined up along the length of the new monster's arm; it was tall and completely skinless. Guren grunted as blood seeped from the small graze and started to sting. Running into the area was Oruto with Kotetsu following right behind him. "Guren!" He called to him, rushing to his side.

"Kotetsu, you're not hurt!" Kurasame said in relief but it was soon cut short when he felt Sayo shifting from underneath him, her movements starting to grow sluggish and heavy. _'Sayo, if I let you go…will you kill us?'_ He thought looking down into her unfocused eyes. She gazed back at him tiredly, it was clear that she didn't even recognize him.

' _She seemed so kind and beautiful…all this time we've been in the same class…But I never knew anything about her.'_ He thought with a shred of guilt. _Guren is a lucky man to be loved by a girl like her.'_ Tears cascaded down his cheek and on to his hands; he couldn't hold them back anymore.

Kotetsu watched him silently as he walked over towards him. Kurasame paused and looked back up at him. "Kotetsu?" The other didn't say anything, he waved his hands up and 3 large icy stakes started to form in the air. He brought his arms down forcefully and the stakes followed his movements and impaled Sayo's shoulder, arm, and claw. Her body lurched upwards and she started struggling desperately. The more she moved the more the stakes imbedded themselves in her arm. A gut wrenching scream tore from her lips, Kurasame looked horrified.

"Kotetsu, stop!" He pleaded with him, but Kotestu continued to create more stakes and impale them into Sayo's struggling body, pinning her down. "You're hurting her!"

"…I know. But if we don't pin her down we're all dead!" He argued. "This is the only way!"

The swordsman couldn't do anything besides watch him and listen to Sayo's chilling cries.

" _ **Oh my, that's not very fun, is it?"**_ The woman taunted them. Oruto geared up another powerful thundara spell and aimed it at the beast coming towards him. Kurasame summoned his sword to his side and ran for the woman who blocked his strike with a knife of her own. "Change Sayo back!" He demanded.

" _ **Do all cadets have such poor memories? I just told you it's not possible."**_

' _Why!? Why is this happening!? It was just supposed to be a guts challenge!'_ Kurasame thought pushing his blade against her knife, trying to break through her defense. He could feel himself getting angrier and angrier.

" _ **Nevertheless, it is rather unsettling to see the girl like that. Quite bad taste if do say so myself, ha ha ha ha!"**_

"…I'll kill you…" Kurasame wrenched his sword up and brought it back down on her again. "I'll make you change Sayo back! I'll make you feel our pain!" He could feel himself starting to slip more with each strike he brought down against her, putting his weight behind each attack. The sound of their blades scrapping against each other was the only thing he could hear.

" _ **Futile!"**_ She cackled. _**"Your efforts are futile!"**_ Kurasame brought his sword up one last time, an icy and merciless look taking over his eyes completely as he lost himself to the pain, angry, and the burning hatred he had for the Concordian woman.

" _ **No matter how hard you struggle…"**_ Her words were cut off as he attacked downwards with everything he had, breaking her knife in half and severing her entire left arm from her shoulder. Blood spurted out uncontrollably and she screamed. She brought her other hand up to try and stop the bleeding but it was no use as she dropped to the ground and shriveled up in pain. _**"My arm!"**_ She struggled to pick herself up but she collapsed again.

"Sayo's pain is worse." Kurasame's eyes were overshadowed by his bangs as he walked closer to the woman. "So change her back." He pointed his sword to her face and the woman started to tremble from fear. _**"I…I can't! It's not possible!"**_ Kurasame angled his sword down and stabbed through the woman's knee. _**"AAAAAHHHHH!"**_

"Enough screaming. Just change Sayo back. She can't go back to Akademia like that."

"" _ **I told you it's not possible! Nothing I can do will reverse the transformation…"**_ He ripped his sword from her leg and held it up again. "Stop talking and change her back!"

"S-Sayo…!"

Kurasame paused and immediately turned back around. Sayo was up and there was blood dripping from her arm and leg from the stakes that were still imbedded there. The lifeless look in her eyes hadn't changed at all. She was advancing towards him slowly.

"Sayo!" Guren made a run towards her but Kurasame tried to stop him. "Guren, stop!"

The blood red spikes that had been growing from her arm launched out towards Guren but Oruto moved in front of him, and took the hit as the spikes stabbed him the side. "Ngh…" He coughed out blood and collapsed on the ground. "Oruto!"

"Dammit!" Kotetsu summoned a thundara spell and aimed it at the girl, shocking her where she stood. She stumbled a little before dropping back down. Guren made a run for her fallen body; he picked her up in his arms. "Hang in there Sayo! Please, answer me!" The poor girl could hardly move.

"Gu…ren." She rasped out. She could barely open her eyes but she managed to look at the raven haired teen before turning to gaze weakly at the other three. "Every…one…" She tried to smile at them. Kurasame felt tears stinging the edge of his vision, "Don't die, don't die!" he pleaded. He got on his knees and moved closer to her.

'Let's all go back to Akademia together!" Tears started to fall. "We can go places and have fun together!" Kotetsu and Oruto gave him pitying and sorrowful looks but he didn't care. "And eat lunch together! I'll give you tips for tests!" He was trying everything he could. "I'll introduce you to Kazusa!"

"So please…" He sobbed weakly. "Please…Let's all…"

"Every…one…I'm sorry…" She said quietly, her closed shut and her breathing slowed to a stop. Her body going limp in Guren's arms.

"Sayo…Don't die." Guren clutched her tightly to his chest, tears streaming down his face. "You can't die. Sayo…"

The four sat there is silence for a few minutes, not knowing what to say. Oruto heard something fall to the ground off to the side. He turned and saw Miwa leaning against the wall tiredly. "Miwa, I told you to stay and rest there. Are you okay?" He and Kotetsu went over to her side, Kurasame stayed behind, still looking at the corpse in Guren's arms. He looked at the girl's face, "Guren, who's…?"

Guren perked up and looked down at her. He threw the body down roughly and stumbled back in disgust. "Ew! Who is this girl!?"

"Anyway, we need to get out of here and fast." The swordsman turned away and slung Miwa's arm around his neck to support her left side and Kotetsu her right. Guren threw one more disgusted look back at the girl's mutated corpse "Uh…yeah." He went to help Oruto, the spike still impaled through his side as they walked. "Oruto, are you okay?" He asked the blonde.

Neither of them looked back at the forgotten corpse of the girl as they left.

 **XxXxXxX**

" _My memories after that are vague. I think we got out of the cave and walked as fast as we could back to Akademia. The next thing I knew, I was on a bed in the infirmary."_

Opening his eyes he was greeted to the clean white ceiling of the infirmary and the sunlight streaming through the window, he glanced over at Kazusa who was sitting by his side with a book in his hands. "How are you feeling?" The scientist asked him as he sat up in bed. "I'm okay."

He turned rand saw Miwa, Kotetsu and Guren sleeping the beds next to him. He smiled in relief. However as he looked closer at them, he felt that there was someone missing. "Where's the other one? There should be one more of us." He looked at Kazusa angrily. "There were five when we left the cave!"

Kazusa glanced back down at his book. "He passed away last night, while you were sleeping." He held something up in his hands and held it out to Kurasame. It was a bloody and torn purple mantle. "It was wrapped around your arm. It belonged to the boy who died yesterday." Kurasame leaned closer to inspect the name that was printed on the corner of it. "Oruto…?"

Kazusa pushed back down on his shoulder to get him to lay back down again. He brought the covers up to his chin. "You need more rest." He walked over to the trash can with the bloody mantle in hand. Kurasame watched him as he lowered it into the trashcan until,

"Don't throw it away." Kazusa paused and turned towards him steadily, Kurasame continued to watch his hand. _'What am I doing? What's the point of hanging on to that filthy piece of cloth?'_ As if he knew the answer Kazusa smiled at him and laid it next to his head, not saying anything and neither did Kurasame who looked back at it one last time before falling asleep.

 **XxXxXxX**

Guren, Kurasame, Miwa, and Kotetsu stood side by side in front of the Cadet Master. She was an elderly woman with light gray hair that was pulled back into a long pony tail with a red ribbon. She wore Rubrums military uniform with a long dark red coat and boots.

"What happened in the cave was an _**unfortunate accident**_."

"It wasn't an accident! Women from Concordia were-" Kurasame tried to argue with her.

"Be quiet and Listen!" she spoke firmly, cutting him off. "I know there were criminals lurking in that cave. Criminals who had been conducting illegal research within the Kingdom of Concordia. They had been preforming inhumane experiments, trying to fuse humans with monsters and dragons. But they have been apprehended by Class One and the Army."

"And they're going to be executed, right?"

"…They were secretly extradited to concordian custiody."

"What!?" The four yelled in shock.

"If the public found out that cadets were killed by Concordians on Rubrum soil…Our relationship with Concordia will be ruined. Tensions are already high between Rubrum and Milites. It would be too much of a risk to turn Concordia against us as well. And Concordia is in a similar position." She paused for a second to allow the information to sink in.

"Therefore, this incident will remain Classified. This was a political decision."

"That's stupid! So what are we supposed to say when people ask us how our class died?"

"I told you. It was an unfortunate accident. That cave is a den of stray monsters. The young men and women of Class Three fell prey to those monsters. As of now, that is the truth. If any of you four speak of this to anyone, you will be severely punished. Only a handful of people know about the incident, it will be erased from the Annals of History.

Kurasame couldn't believe what he was hearing. _'Erased…? Everyone who died…The one who turned into a monster, the one who fought with us until the end…Our memories of them are lost, and now the truth is being covered up.'_

' _What proof do we have that they lived?'_

Not knowing what else to say, the four turned and walked out of the office in a daze. The cadet Master's eyes were down casted. "I'm glad you four made it back." Kurasame took one last look at her before leaving out.

The walk back to their empty classroom was quiet and slow. Walking into the portal and standing in the middle of the class, they were haunted by the faceless images that used to be their classmates. Their presence still filled the room, the phantom laughter and chattering echoed noisily in their heads. Kurasame walked towards the black board and ripped the guts challenge paper off. He gripped it in his hand wordlessly and set it on fire with a small spell. The ashes carried off his hand and drifted off into the air. He turned back towards his friends with determination as he clutched onto his purple mantle.

" _I didn't know then that the four of us who survived would come to be known as…_

 _" The Four Champions of Rubrum."_

 _ **End of Chapter 3**_

 **A/N: The next chapter is the last chapter of the first volume. I'm going to continue to post the other volumes here as well but I don't know if i should put them together as one big story or make them seperate from eachother, thoughts? _Next Update: March 26th_**


	4. Chapter 4: Varied Emotions

_**Chapter 4: Varied Emotions**_

As he stood in the back of the classroom Kurasame couldn't help but watch the newer Cadets of Class Three talk and laugh amongst each other freely. _'It's like nothing has changed from a month ago.'_ He thought.

"Hey, we're going to rent out the Ready Room for a birthday party. You wanna come?" A group of girls asked Miwa. She was sitting solemnly by herself in her old seat. "Sorry, I'll pass." She declined politely; the saddened look on her face hadn't changed at all.

' _But things have changed.'_ Kurasame looked over at Miwa one last time before leaving the room. He left out of Akademia's main hallway and went outside to the court yard. As he passed by the other cadets he could feel their curious stairs watching his back as he walked, their whispers growing louder and more audible as he passed by the groups of people. He paid them no mind and went over to the main gate and saw Guren talking to a middle aged couple and waving goodbye.

"Are you sure you didn't want to go with your parents?" He asked him.

"You'd miss me if I was gone. And hey, they're just moving. It's not like I'm never going to see them again." Guren said, playfully punching Kurasame's shoulder. "Besides, after everything that happened, I can't leave. Not with Miwa like that, for one thing."

' _We lost so much a month ago. The crystal may have erased our memories for us, but that doesn't erase the fact that we lost our classmates. Or the sense of loss swirling in my heart.'_ Kurasame gripped his mantle tightly.

"Hey Kurasame, do you think time can fix this 'blah' feeling I'm having?" Guren asked him. They were walking down the court yard and heading towards the Air Ship landing. "I think so. I'm sure we'll forget it someday."

Guren stopped in front of him suddenly and Kurasame looked over towards the center of the platform. Right there in the center was a small green Cactuar twitching and jumping up in down. Kurasame immediately summoned his sword to his hand and readied himself to attack the small monster. "What's a monster doing here!?" He asked but Guren wasn't paying him any attention and ran over, tackling the Cactuar in a tight hug.

"I told you to forget about me!" He practically shouted. Kurasame looked dumbfounded. "What is he? An ex-girlfriend?"

"The hell it is!" Guren said carrying the small monster in his arms. "He's kind of like a pet." The Cactuar apparently didn't like being called a pet and jerked its head up and starting shooting spikes form his head at Guren's chin angrily.

"Ow ow ow ow! Sorry! I'm kidding, you're my best friend!" He said patting the little guy's head. "I was just teasing. Don't take everything so seriously. I told him to go with my parents, but he shook his head at me."

"Cactuars can do that…?" Kurasame honestly didn't know what to think of the situation.

"Do you want to stay with me that badly?" Guren asked it. It looked at him for a moment before jumping up and down. The raven haired teen swept it back into a hug. "Me too!"

"What is going on here?" The swordsman was completely lost.

"I want him to stay with me!"

"Yeah, okay. Have it your way."

"So help me hide him."

"What? Me!?"

"What are you two so excited about?" Kotetsu asked as he walked over to their side.

"kotetsu! Perfect timing! I was just trying to figure out how to sneak this fella into my room."

"…I see." He didn't even bother asking why. "You couldn't make any friends so now you're trying to make friends with monsters, is that it?"

"That black humor of yours is just not funny." Guren said laughing.

"Says the guy laughing his head off." Kurasame rolled his eyes at him and sighed, it was just like any other day for the three of them.

 **XxXxXxX**

Kurasame stepped off the portal and walked over towards the end of the Terrace's ledge that over looked the whole school. _'After the incident in the cave, the four of us became isolated. Class Three was wiped out, and it was treated like an accident.'_ His mood turned solemn. _'But the people around us couldn't help but harbor certain suspicions.'_

'" _How did they survive when everyone else died?" People would whisper behind my back as I walked past them. Rumors gave rise to new rumors, and they started calling us "The Reapers." I had scoffed at the idea of playing friendship. But now, I couldn't imagine my life without the three of them.'_ Thinking back, he remembered that Guren would always give him a light shove on his shoulder every time the two walked past each other. Even in the midst of walking through a crowed of faces he didn't even know, that small gesture would always bring a small smile to his face and lighten his mood.

' _It's ironic. It wasn't until I lost my classmates that I finally felt the peace of mind that comes with having friends. Even without memories of the dead, you can't complete wipe away grief.'_

"You look so sad."

Turning around slowly, he saw a girl with wavy brunette hair that was partitioned and half of it was pulled up into a ponytail with brown eyes and light pale skin. She wore the yellow/green mantle of Class Fifth and cadet uniform; she was sitting on the bench off to the side. _'I know this girl…'_

"You're Emina, right?" he asked her.

"You know me?"

"Well, you're pretty famous." He said, _'All the cadets talk about her, apparently she's the 'hottest cadet' in Akademeia.'_

"Not as famous as you, Kurasame. Sorry, it's just, I envy you so much I couldn't stop myself from talking to you."

"…Envy me?"

"You have friends who share your painful memories, people who support you. And people who need your support. I think you're very blessed." She looked down at herself for a second before snickering lightly. "And there I go talking like I know everything. Sorry about that." She stood up from her seat and walked towards the portal. Before she got too far from him, Kurasame called out to her suddenly.

"Emina! Don't you…Have friends who share your painful memories?" She paused and looked at him from over her shoulder and smiled slightly before resuming. He frowned a little at the response he had gotten, no one deserved to be lonely.

"Be my friend!"

Hearing that made her stop completely and turn fully towards Kurasame with wide surprised eyes. Small tears formed at the edge of her eyes and she wiped them away with her hand. "You're a nice person Kurasame." She said with a sad smile. He watched her back until she had disappeared from sight through the portal.

Now he was even more confused than he was before. _'Was Emina crying? But she was smiling. Is the idea of being my friend so terrible that it makes her cry? But she was smiling so, somehow I feel like she's like us. I could see the solitude in her eyes. They're the eyes of someone working out her troubles alone, like Miwa's.'_ He was so deep in his own thoughts that he didn't notice that the raven haired girl had walked on the Terrace as well until he heard small footsteps coming his way.

"Miwa!"

"Kurasame," She began. "The Cadet Master wants to see us."

"The Cadet Master?"

 **XxXxXxX**

The four of them stood side-by-side each other in front of the Cadet Master's desk in her office, watching as she shuffled through the papers on her desk. "I have a special mission for the four of you. I want you to go the Dragon Sanctuary and find out why the monsters are going berserk."

"The Dragon Sanctuary?" The swordsman asked. "You mean in Concordia?"

"Yes. There have been reports of the monsters there are going mad and harming civilians. The Royal Family of Concordia has filed a formal request that we conduct an investigation. Normally, we would send Class One. But Class One is on an errand for the military and cannot be spared at this time. You have real battle experience, and I believe that you have the necessary skill, so I would like to assign you specially to this mission."

"A request from the Royal Family…?" Kurasame asked. Guren slammed his hands down forcefully on the desk. "You want us to help those Concordian bastards!?" He yelled angrily. "Us!?" Kotetsu and Miwa stayed silent.

"…If you don't want to do it, then fine. But surely you understand?" She said. "This mission should have gone to Class One. Do you have any idea what it would do to your careers if you succeeded in carrying it out?"

' _If we can pull this off, we can get closer to Class One.'_

"I will give you one day to think it over. There are bad Concordians, and there are good Concordians. The same can be said of our Dominion. There are bad people here, but there are good people as well. You would not be betraying your lost classmates if you were to help the good Concordians." The elderly woman said, dismissing the four from her office. Kurasame felt himself become conflicted from her words as he followed behind the others.

 **XxXxXxX  
**

"She can't be serious! She's got a lot of nerve, asking us to do a mission for their Kingdom!" Guren said heatedly.

"But she was right, you know. We can't assume that all Concordians are evil." Kotetsu countered.

"But you can't forgive what you can't forgive."

"Even if it gets you promoted to Class One?"

"Erk…" Kotetsu had got him there.

"What are you going to do, Kurasame? Getting into Class One is your dream, isn't it?" Kotetsu asked him. The swordsman was at odds with himself. The memories of the cave continuously replayed themselves in his head endlessly. "I…" He didn't know what he wanted to do at the moment.

"You don't have to turn it down because you think we want you to, and you don't have to report to us either. We'll all find our own answers individually." Kotetsu said. Miwa hadn't said a word the entire time. Her face contorted into a sad look and she turned and walked away from the three, no one stopped her.

"I will have to find my own answers." The Swordsman decided before breaking away from the remaining group as well.

Kotetsu knocked Guren on his shoulder to gain his attention. "What?" He asked.

"You're going." He stated; Guren looked shocked. "What? You just said we should find our own answers!"

"I was talking to Kurasame. Kurasame is going to decide to go. You need to go with him."

"What? But he looked like he wasn't sure yet."

"The uncertainty is just proof that in his heart, he doesn't want to go. But in his head, he knows he should. Kurasame will choose to go. The Mission should have gone to Class One. There is no way Kurasame can handle it alone. So you're going to go with him."

"…Okay, fine." Guren reluctantly gave in. "And of course you'll be going too?" He asked.

"No, I won't."

"What!? Why not…?" He was confused, but then he understood. "Oh right, Miwa." Kotetsu nodded his head. "Miwa isn't ready to move forward yet; I'll stay behind with her. We can't leave her alone."

"Got it. I'll take care of Kurasame." The raven haired teen said before he roughly slapped Kotetsu's shoulder hard, he smiled at him. "You're a pretty considerate guy."

"It's not easy babysitting you three." He said jokingly.

 **XxXxXxX**

Back inside Akademeia, The Cadet Master watched as the sun began to set from her window, she sighed to herself. She heard a wooden stick hit against the floor along with heave footsteps and moving armor make way into her office.

"Class One can't be spared, eh?" A deep voice said. "As their Commanding Officer, you'd think I would have known that."

"Please just let them think that, Takatsugu."

Takatsugu was a tall and muscular man with dark tanned skin and short white hair with long sideburns. He had a white scar running down his left eye and a black uniform and cape in contrast to Rubrum's red one. His right leg was encased in armor and he had a crutch gripped in his left hand. A deep frown was set on his face.

"This is a perfect opportunity for those four to take a good look at themselves."

"'To overcome their losses and start walking tomorrow.' Eh?" He said. "Reminds me of when I was young."

"I want you to help them get through this."

"It must not be easy being Cadet Master, playing mother to all of the cadets." The woman just smiled. "It's my job."

 **XxXxXxX**

Back up on the Terrace, Kurasame leaned against the railing staring out into the dark sky.

"We meet again, Kurasame."

"Emina." He acknowledged as he turned towards her. She came up beside him and leaned against the railing as well. "I always find myself here, whenever I have something to think about."

"Oh, I know, so do I."

"What's on your mind?" She asked him.

"I'm trying to decide if I should go to Concordia."

"When I'm worried about something, it always helps to visualize."

"'Visualize'?"

"Yes, the best case scenario and the worst case scenario."

"The best…Would be that I accomplish the mission and get promoted to Class One, I guess."

"Hmm. And the worst?"

"Hm, the Concordians get in the way again, like the scum they are."

"But if they get in the way, can't you just fight them?" She turned her back against the rail. "Or maybe you don't want to fight?"

"Oh, I want to fight! I'd welcome the chance! I'll show them exactly what I can do." Emina smiled again. "Then it looks like there aren't a whole lot of cons in that worst case scenario. I think you have your answer."

' _She's right.'_ He thought. ' _In the worst case scenario, I end up fighting Concordians. If I think of that as my chance to avenge my class, it's actually…'_ He was jolted out of his thoughts when he felt a hand grab him on his shoulder.

"Hey there, Kurasame."

"Kazusa!"

"Brooding over something again?" The scientist teased him.

"I'm not brooding!"

It was right then when Kazusa noticed that Emina was there with them. She had her arms crossed in front of her and she looked at him with a curious look and he regarded her with a calculative one.

"Emina, the 'Hottest cadet' in Akademia, I presume?" He asked her mockingly.

"Kazusa, the 'Creepiest Creeper' in Akademia, I presume?" She countered.

"You know me. I'm honored."

"The honor is mine. I've always wanted to talk to you. So you two are friends?"

"We're more than friends, more than lovers," he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and rested his arm on Kurasame's shoulder. "More than…Family, I'd say."

"Wha-!?"

"…Huh…" Emina looked between the two, feeling a little lost until her eyes lit up with sudden realization and a pink blush spread across her face, she brought her hands up to her cheeks.

"No Emina, it's not what you think!" Kurasame tried to stop her but she ignored him. "So that's how it is! That's why neither of you tried to hit on me!" She clapped her hands, the starry look in her eyes and her blush intensified. "Now it makes sense."

' _Wait a second!'_ He thought. "No! We are definitely not like that! Kazusa is less than a stranger to me, we have no relationship!"

"Kurasame is shy. Will you play along?" Kazusa asked Emina.

"I understand. Not many people understand that kind of thing." She said.

"Kurasame is hopeless without me."

"Dammit Kazusa!" Kurasame held him up by his gray mantle, the scientist just smiled cheekily.

"You have to be good friends to fight like that." Emina teased him. "Relax Kurasame. I'll keep this between the three of us." She said with a giggle.

"It's…It's not like that!"

 **XxXxXxX**

Early the next morning Kurasame stood outside of the large doors that led to the Cadet master's office. _'I thought I'd made up my mind. But is this really what I want?'_ In his hand he held on to the bloody mantle of what was left of his fallen classmate tightly. _'What would my dead classmates say if they saw me helping Concordia?'_

"What are you doing?" Someone asked him from behind. He turned and saw the last person he expected to see there for the mission.

"Guren! You came?"

"Yeah." He said. "Getting into Class One has been a dream of mine too."

"But you were so mad yesterday."

"Well, I gotta let it go sometime." He reached up and knocked a few times on the door.

" _ **Come in."**_ A voice said on the other side.

"So what are you going to do?" He asked the Swordsman. Kurasame looked down at the mantle in his hands and brought it up close to his face. "People need our help. And it's a cadet's job to give it."

"Let's go." The double doors began to open up and Kurasame felt a swell of determination rise in his chest, his resolve was stronger than before. He walked with confidence in his step, Guren following right behind him.

" _To the Kingdom of Concordia."_


End file.
